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New hormone therapy could help men live longer, study shows

Enzalutamide, a new life-extending prostate cancer drug, could
prolong life for men with advanced prostate cancer and delay the
need for chemotherapy for as long as 17 months according to new
research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s
Genitourinary Cancers Conference.

The randomised control trial looked at 1717 men with metastatic
prostate cancer for whom androgen therapy had failed but had not
yet had chemotherapy and preliminary results showed the potential
for the drug to both improve life-expectancy and delay the need for
chemotherapy.

Enzalutamide is a type of hormone therapy for men with advanced
prostate cancer. The drug is currently licensed in Europe only for
men whose prostate cancer has progressed after chemotherapy. This
week, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
recommended that the drug be made available on the NHS only for
those men who have not been treated with abiraterone, the only
other available non-chemotherapy drug for men with advanced
prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer UK is challenging NICE’s draft
decision in respect of the drug’s prescription after chemotherapy.
NICE are yet to appraise the drug for use pre-chemotherapy.

Mikis Euripides, Director of Policy at Prostate Cancer UK
said:

“Men with advanced prostate cancer desperately need more
treatment options and these encouraging results suggest that
enzalutamide could not only delay the need for men to go through
the agony of chemotherapy but in fact increase how long they will
live. Enzalutamide is already licensed for those who’ve had
chemotherapy but this trial will hopefully establish a robust base
of evidence to demonstrate that it should be available
beforehand.

This is good news but sadly won’t help the one man an hour who
dies of prostate cancer at present. We need to see drugs like
enzalutamide available sooner rather than later and so it’s a cruel
twist that this study comes just days after NICE ruled out the drug
for men who’ve have already had chemotherapy and the only other
drug available at this stage – abiraterone. Men deserve better and
so we’re fighting to encourage NICE to see sense and ensure all who
need it can access it. This week we’ve seen 50,000 people come
together as Men United to fight the injustices facing men with
prostate cancer. NICE’s decision on enzalutamide demonstrates all
too starkly why this movement is needed.’